BARCS is back in business after a power outage knocked out their AC

After a tumultuous couple of days, the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) announced Sunday in a Facebook post that they are back in business after being temporarily shut down due to a broken AC unit.

In the post, they thanked the community for sticking by them as they adjusted to unexpected change.

“Hooray! BARCS is back to business as usual today! Come adopt an animal at our shelter—all adoption fees are waived for our GO BIG, GO HOME challenge to save 1,000 lives this July. Let’s do it, Baltimore!”

“Thank you again for sticking with us, always. It’s because of our community that lives get saved.”

The story initially broke on Friday when the BARCS announced that in the middle of a heat wave, they were closing early due to their air conditioning being broken.

In that same announcement, the organization said that they were working with Baltimore City’s Office of Emergency Management for an immediate cooling solution while we await information on a timeline for full repairs.

Later that day, BARCS got a temporary solution, acquiring industrial misting fans.

However, on Saturday, the shelter announced that due to the amount of temporary cooling equipment throughout our shelter, they had to close adoptions for the day and limit foot traffic to conserve electricity.

That same day, WMAR managed to catch up with BARCS's executive director and founder, Jennifer Brause. She says she expects a complete repair in the upcoming days.

The story had gained enough attention that one business in Little Italy came to help. On Saturday, Sweet Louie Hair Salon held a donation drop-off and foster parent drive.

The drive was organized by Pan Needleman, Sweet Louie's owner and vice president of the Little Italy Neighborhood Association, and Swinita Shah, a fellow dog lover.

"We are a very doggy-friendly community. Everyone loves BARCS. I think half our neighbor's pets are from BARCS, so we wanted to see what we can do," said Shah.

Shah continued, "We didn't have to ask our neighbors. I think it's more about spreading the word. As soon as my post went out, I had tens of thousands of calls. They were like, how can I help? What can we do?"

There, neighbors dropped off water, apple sauce, canned pumpkins, Cheerios, and plastic wrap, to name a few. Later that day, those donations were dropped off at the BARCS location.